


The Robbery On Marooner Street

by ThatOneBrokenDeskYouHadToSitOn



Series: Willowdale Mysteries [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Feuding Families, Maybe - Freeform, Mystery, Oneshot, Other, This is my ELA assignment, because I really wanted to, but I made it into a fic, can't stop me, comment and leave kudos, hahaha, will i make more?, yes i killed Rachel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28855374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneBrokenDeskYouHadToSitOn/pseuds/ThatOneBrokenDeskYouHadToSitOn
Summary: "This isn't the way to the police department, Percy. You said we would go straight there and tell them what we know," There's been a robbery on Marooner Street. The police claim there's nothing out of the ordinary. And that brings us to the subject of murder.
Series: Willowdale Mysteries [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2202630
Kudos: 5





	The Robbery On Marooner Street

_Title :_ The Robbery On Marooner Street

 _Fandom :_ PJO/HoO

 _Warnings :_ Character death, mystery, hidden treasure, cheesy English assignment adaptation (It's mine so please don't use it)

 _Summary :_ "This isn't the way to the police department, Percy. You said we would go straight there and tell them what we know," There's been a robbery on Marooner Street. The police claim there's nothing out of the ordinary. And that brings us to the subject of murder.

 _Characters : _Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Piper McLean, Chiron

This was adapted from my ELA project, and some of the names might be wrong, so here's a key.

Jack = Percy

Piper = Piper (Don't judge me, I'm lazy)

Mackenzie = Rachel

Tristan = Jason

Mr. Lorenzo = Chiron

**The Robbery On Marooner Street**

New York City. Loud, busy, full of excitement. A place where anything could happen! You're humming a song down the street? Maybe Jamie Foxx just happens to be there and signs you're a record deal! Or you might run into a celebrity! Who knows? I could spend the whole day imagining-

"Percy!" my mother's voice called, snapping me out of my daydream. I grumbled under my breath.

"Yeah, mom?" I called back.

"If you're done daydreaming, I suggest you head for the bus stop!" She shouted back.

School! The bus! How could I have forgotten school? The overbearing, ever-present, annoying part of my life.

Willowdale was very much not New York. Nothing ever happened. It was like being in a loop. Wake, get dressed, go to school, after-school activities and such, and bed. Oh, and you had to fit food in your incredibly "busy" schedule.

I grabbed a piece of toast from my brothers' plate. The lucky guy was in high school and he didn't have school until another hour.

"Hey!" He shouted but I was already out the back door.

"Pay you back later!" I called him and slammed the door behind me.

Eating while running to catch up with the bus isn't fun. At least I didn't miss the bus or I would never hear the end of it. Do you know how I said that Willowdale was small? It's not too small like everybody knows everybody, but in our small part of town, everybody did know everybody.

Daniel Barberiite for example. He once got caught pranking the principal and he's never heard the end of it. Anytime parents want to scare their kids, Daniel Barberiite is the prime example.

It's too bad the threat doesn't work anymore because Daniel moved away about…15 years ago. There's always the occasional "Don't be Daniel Barberiite," conversation that is brought up.

Lucky for me, my name didn't take Daniel's spot. At least not today.

I heaved into the back row of the bus and tugged my backpack close to me. I leaned onto the bus's window, watching as my breath made a steamy patch on the window.

"Is this seat free?" someone asked, and I turned to face them. It was Jason Bakley. We weren't friends or anything, I doubted anything could make us become friends unless there was some life-or-death situation or something, but Jason was nice to everybody. I patted the seat next to me and slouched down.

"Did you hear about the robbery?" He asked, picking at his nails as if he expected me not to answer.

"There was a robbery?" My family and I were usually on top of the news, but this morning, I was on my A-game.

Jason frowned. "Yeah, it was all over the news. Over on Marooner street,"

I thought about the town layout. "The jewelry stores? What was stolen?" I asked.

"That's just it-nothing. The police can't seem to find anything out of the ordinary, and they suspect the person chickened out during the break-in,"

"I guess it would seem that way," I said, but I was suspicious. Why break into a place only to leave halfway through? I thought about the robbery all through the remainder of the bus ride.

I said goodbye to Jason and made my way towards classes, slowly forgetting about the robbery.

When school ended, I planned to take the long way home, and maybe stop for ice cream on the road. When I got to Marooner street, there was police tape and cars everywhere, littering the street. I remember the suspicious break-in Jason had told me about.

I walked towards the building, hoping to catch a glance inside, but I was steered away by the police who claimed that they were still "surveying the area". One guy was eating his lunch on top of his car.

I started walking back to follow my original plan-retrieve double chocolate fudge ice cream-when my foot stepped on something that made a loud crunch. At first, I thought it was a bug, but I had never seen a bug so shiny. I bent down to pick it up. It looked like a diamond, probably from the jewelry store. The place was robbed! So then, why were the police lying to everyone? I was tempted to give the gem to the police, but instead, I pocketed it. Who's to say they wouldn't lie about this too?

Abandoning my hopes of ice cream, I started back home, hoping to study the gem further, but I knew I wouldn't get very far on my own without looking suspicious.

I would need an expert, someone educated in all things fancy…

…

Piper McLean was the average mean girl. Snobby, rich, and treats me- or everybody- like the scum, she scraped off her Prada's. How she has friends, I could never understand. But she was more experienced in the 'fancy department' than me, so I put back my insults when she turned her nose at me.

"Yeah, this is a diamond," She held it up to the light, then handed it back to me.

"A pretty one too. Where did you say you got this?" She turned to me, frowning.

"I'll tell you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone,"

"Whatever," She said, rolling her eyes, which was as good a promise as I was going to get. I filled her in on the robbery and what the police had said about it, which she already knew. I told her how I had found the diamond at the 'scene of the crime' as I wanted to call it.

"So, what did you need my help for?" She asked.

"You're the expert on these things," I shrugged. "I figured, who better than you to ask about a diamond,"

"Thanks," Piper said drily.

The bell rang, and our vice principal's voice came on over the speaker.

"Will Percy Percyson, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Piper McLean, and Jason Grace all please report to the principal's office. Now," The sound of the intercom being put down sounded throughout the school. Chree

"Well," Piper said, turning to me. "I guess your little mystery will have to wait.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Principal McGobbin started when we were all seated in her office.

"What's this about?" Rachel asked. She had dried mud on her jeans, and it looked like the mud from the park. The park over on Marooner street.

"Yes, that," Principal McGobbin said, looking at Rachel's dirty pants.

"You all may remember the writing contest we had a few months ago?"

I did. We had one every year, and no one from Willowdale middle school ever one. The prize this year was spending a week with a billionaire or something. I didn't find it too interesting, but it counted for 55% of my grade so I did it anyway.

"You four have been chosen to visit Mr. Chiron at his house for the following week. You have been excused from all your classes, and- "

"Wait," Jason started. "We won?"

"Do you find that hard to believe?" Principal McGobbin looked at Jason over her spectacles, the little kind that librarians wear in movies. Maybe she wanted to star in a Broadway Musical, or at least go to New York. Or anywhere far away from Willowdale, North Carolina.

"But all of us from the same school?" I asked, not ready to believe that I had won something like this. Mom would flip.

"Funnily enough, yes. The contest moderators thought that there had been a glitch in their system.

While Principal McGobbin filled us in, I wondered what writing project I had submitted. I tended to forget assignments as soon as I saw the grade. Good grade? Okay, awesome! Moving on…

Bad grade? Ooh, study a bit more in that subject…Boom! A+

I walked out of the principal's office in a daze, my mind still not processing what it had learned.

"Isn't this a coincidence," Piper said. "It's almost like someone intended this to happen,"

Rachel paled. "W-what makes you think that?"

Piper narrowed her eyes. "All of us? Winning a contest that we have every year with no hopes of winning? From the same school? I think I'm amazing, but the chances of something like this happening are pretty slim,"

"No need to be scared, Rachel," Jason tried to soothe her. "Ms. McGobbin already told us that there was no fraud,"

"Unless the contest people were bribed," I pointed out, but the glare Jason sent me screamed, ``Not helping! I shrugged.

"Or it could just be a coincidence. It's not like this will turn into a life or death situation,"

"You don't know that!" Rachel cried.

"Oh, please. It's one old guy against all of us. What harm could he do?"

When I arrived home, I tried to get as much information as possible from my parents about the robbery.

"So, Mom," I started. "Did you hear about the robbery?"

"Yes, I did," Mom said, not bothering to look up from the stove.

"Do you think that the robber did steal something?" I asked her.

"No. The police have already confirmed that nothing was stolen,"

"But what if they lied?"

"Percy, are you suggesting that the police who have sworn to protect us have lied to us?" My dad asked, looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"W-well no, but- "I tried to defend myself.

"But nothing, Percy. Nothing was stolen, just drop it," I consider showing my parents the thousand-dollar diamond I had in the pocket of my backpack, but I decided that it wasn't worth it.

Knowing my parents, they would either, 1) Accuse me of stealing, 2) Tell me to give it to the police, or 3) Give it to the police themselves.

After my wonderful dinner of lentils and green beans (insert gagging here), I marched up the stairs and threw my backpack on my bed. I needed to pack for my spontaneous trip to the mansion, and I had no idea what to bring. I threw some clothes in my suitcase, and toothbrush and toothpaste, an emergency Oreo pack, and a picture of My mom, dad, brother, and me, standing at the Grand Canyon from our vacation two years ago.

I somehow managed to shove it all in one bag. I carefully zipped it up and got ready for bed. I had a very fitful sleep, dreaming of robbers and billionaires.

…

"You look terrible," I said to Rachel when we all gathered in front of the bus stop to leave for out of town. Principal McGobbin was standing farther back, waiting to wish us off and make sure we all made it on the bus.

"Thanks," She said. "I stayed up all panicking,"

"We'll be fine," I said. The sound of the bus shuttling towards us made our heads snap forward.

"See?" I asked Rachel. "The bus is even early. There's nothing to be worried about,"

Rachel stared at me, long and hard. "For your sake, I hope that's true,"

I didn't particularly like ominous warnings like that, and something about Rachel now screamed, 'Bad vibes! Stay away!' but I ignored it.

As I watched Ms. McGobbin's waving hand get smaller, I wondered what Mr. Chiron would be like. Snobby? Nice? Mean? Always donating to charity?

I sat there with his thoughts, wondering which of them were true, and which of them weren't. He would find out soon enough, but the anxiety was killing him. This must have been what Rachel felt like.

As the bus neared their stop, I could see the tip of the house, pristine white. I had been imagining a house like the one from Monster House, so I was happy to see that this was not the case.

Now all that was left to do was to survive the meeting with Mr. Lorenzo. And live with him for a week.

Awesome.

…

"This is not awesome!" I said as I ran through the ridiculously, stupidly tall hedges. I was also being chased by a goose.

Have you ever seen a goose? They look cute and innocent, but they're very territorial. They'll honk at you, and if they deem you a threat chase you down. They also have teeth. I had to learn this the hard way. With a will to live, I hightailed it far away from the killer geese to the front door.

I leaned against the door, my hand supporting me, as I panted, out of breath.

"I have to say," Piper stated, smirking at me, "That was very entertaining,"

"I live to serve," I grumbled, rubbing my sore behind.

The door opened suddenly, and if it hadn't been for Jason, I would've fallen face-first into a cane, poking my eye out.

I dusted myself off and hoisted my suitcase up to rest next to me. Then I looked up.

Mr. Chiron was different than I had expected. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was different. For one, he wore a suit, which in itself wasn't strange, except for the fact that there were dancing monkeys all over it. His tie was banana yellow, and I bet he thought he was being funny there.

"Hello," He said. His deep voice didn't match his attire at all. "You must be the contest winners. Please, come in," He stepped to the side and held the door open for us.

"And uh," He looked at me, "We'll get something to treat your goose bite,"

I thanked him.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

…

It was so bad.

On the third day of the week, Tuesday, there was another robbery. This time, it was at school. Again, it appeared nothing was stolen, and the only signs of disturbance were the muddy tracks in the hallways.

When I came down for lunch (I'm on a vacation, I wake up when I want), Rachel and Jason were already there. Rachel's pants are dirt on them, and when I asked her about it, she said she had been in the garden. The goose bite on her arm confirmed it, although it looked much better than mine had the first hour.

"So, two robberies in a month?" I asked them as I plopped down on the sofa. "How weird is that?"

"Very," Jason agreed. "I didn't know Willowdale could have two robbery's, much less one."

"Next thing you know, they'll be a murder," Rachel chimed in. I looked at her, my head tilted in confusion. What a strange thing to talk about so calmly…

"So, Rachel," I started, hoping to put my theories to use, "How was the garden?"

"The what?" She asked.

"The garden. You said you had gone exploring," I pointed to the mud on her sneakers.

"Oh! Right! It was…gardeny,"

"Gardeny," I repeated.

"Yep. The geese weren't very friendly though. They chased me through the hedges!" That sounded exactly like how the geese chased me. I doubted the geese had patterns in the way they chased people.

"I didn't hear any geese honking," Jason said, looking up from his book.

Rachel shrugged. "Maybe you guys are heavy sleepers,"

"Speaking of sleep," a voice said, as its owner sauntered down the stairs, "I slept wonderfully!"

"Awesome Piper. Good for you," I said sarcastically.

"It's nice to hear that you're all rested," Mr. Chiron said, startling all of us.

"So sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, but we have a busy day ahead of us," He said.

I hoped a busy day meant staying far away from the geese. And maybe a burger.

…

Mr. Chiron led us to his library. He pushed the oak doors open and stepped inside.

I have never been one to marvel at the beauty and glory of a library, but this one was huge! I bet I could find books about any subject in. I craned my neck skywards to see the high selves, and the bookshelves seemed to go on for McLean. The others were doing the same, and Rachel's mouth was hanging open a bit.

Mr. Chiron smiled at our gapping faces.

"Yes, it's nice, isn't it?" He asked us.

"I don't know if 'nice' does this place any justice," I told him. "It's huge!"

He smiled. "Yes, this place has been in my family for generations. The Depenue's have been here since Willowdale was founded in the early 1800s,"

Rachel frowned. "The Depenue's?" she asked. "I thought it was the Magistairs,"

"Well, yes, both of them were a part of this town's founding," Mr. Chiron didn't look like he wanted to talk about this subject, and I hoped Rachel would take the hint. Spoiler Alert: She didn't.

"So why haven't I ever heard of the Depenue's?" She asked.

"We're…obscured from history a bit. There was a…bit of a…misunderstanding," He said hesitantly. "You wouldn't find us in many history books,"

Rachel seemed to take that answer. "Do you have any books where I could learn about it?"

Mr. Chiron preferred to answer this question. "Yes! In the history section,"

"Where is that?" Piper asked.

'Please don't be far away, please don't be far away, please don't be far away,' I chanted.

"On the other side of the library," Mr. Chiron said, confirming my worst fear.

"And how are we supposed to get there?" Piper asked.

"The train of course," Mr. Chiron said.

In my head, I pictured a toy train that was just barely big enough to fit us all or the ones you see in the mall that somebody in an electric wheelchair could beat in a race.

The train indeed turned out to be the kind you see at the mall. It was much faster though. Think, roller-coaster fast.

"Whoo!" I cried, sticking my head out the side. The others seemed to be enjoying this as much as I was. Jason was smiling so much I thought his face might split in half. Rachel's eyes were closed as she felt the air on her face. Even Piper managed a smile.

The train shuttled to a stop.

"Everybody off!" Mr. Chiron shouted to us in a mock conductor's voice. We slid off the train. This "new" section of the library looked like the other places we had been to. I was positive that the only difference was the types of books on the shelves.

"Feel free to look around!" Mr. Chiron told us. Rachel immediately bolted to the shelves. Jason followed, though not as fast. Piper and I hung back, both of us not interested in the history of Willowdale.

"Anything in New York?" I asked Mr. Lorenzo.

"Try 'N'," Mr. Chiron told me. Nothing. I moved on to 'Y' next and my efforts bore the same results. Hoping for a stroke of luck, I went to 'C'. Percypot. Whoever was organizing these books took the Dewey Decimal System a little too far. Who files books on New York City as City, New York? Some cruel practical joker, that's who.

I wasn't expecting to learn about how popular oysters were in the 19th century, or how they used the shells to pave Pearl Street, but I wasn't objecting.

After three hours of non-stop reading, Mr. Chiron announced that it was time for lunch. My stomach rumbled. I checked my watch and read the little numbers reading 3:08. Wow. I couldn't believe we had been reading that long. I couldn't believe that I had been reading that long.

Lunch was not burgers, but I didn't mind. Grilled cheese was still high up there on my list of good food, and the tomato soup was a nice bonus.

"Mhh," Jason groaned as he ate. "Food isn't allowed to be this delicious,"

Rachel slurped her food. "Or the cooks shouldn't be this talented,"

"I've had better," Piper said, but the way she was inhaling her food said otherwise.

"I still think this is weird," I said as I set down my half-eaten sandwich.

"The food thing was a joke," Rachel said, but I shook my head.

"Not that. The robberies, how we all won this surprise trip, those killer geese outside. I've never met a goose before, and I don't think I will ever again," The other laughed, remembering my unwanted tour through the hedges as I fled for my life, "But- "I continued, "It's almost like they're there for a reason. Maybe to guard something, or keep unwanted intruders out,"

"Do you want to know what I think?" Piper asked.

I shrugged. "Why not?"

"I think you've watched way too many sci-fi shows," She said. I glared at her.

"Piper has a point," Jason said. "Maybe you're overthinking this. Maybe the "robberies" are just casual pranksters,"

"I don't know," Rachel said, "Percy might be onto something,"

"A case of the crazies maybe," Piper snorted.

"But think about it," I insisted, "Who keeps geese in their front yard?"

"Mr. Lorenzo, I guess," Piper shrugged, but I could see her mental wheels turning.

"And where is Mr. Chiron now?" I asked. It was just the four of us at the table.

"Maybe he went to go take care of something," Jason shifted uncomfortably.

"Like to plan another break-in?" Rachel asked.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Piper asked Rachel.

Rachel took a deep breath. "Yes, I am. What if Mr. Chiron is behind the break-ins? He's rich enough to bribe his way out of it, and he's rich enough to hire help,"

"Is that another rich person trope? Because I can assure you, we don't have a secret website called 'Thugs-R-Us' where we order this kind of thing," Piper pointed out.

"You might not need to," I said. "But Mr. Lorenzo's family has been here since Willowdale was founded. I'm sure he has a bunch of secrets and things he's not telling us. Like the "misunderstanding" between the Depenue's and the Magistairs,"

"Okay, you both make fair points," Jason said. "But then, what would his motive be?"

"The thing that was stolen during the misunderstand of 1812," Rachel said.

"Wasn't that when there was a war between America and Great Britain?" Piper asked.

"That was the 1700's," I said to her.

"Both of you are right. There were two," Jason said.

"Really?" I asked. "America and Great Britain had problems with each other,"

"Wars aside," Rachel said, "The misunderstanding of 1812 in Willowdale was a less complicated matter,"

"What was the problem?" I asked.

"Something was stolen," Rachel said.

"I've never heard someone say 'something was stolen' so casually," Piper piped up. Pun intended.

"That's because we can get it back," Rachel said.

"We?" I asked. "And how do you know so much about this misunderstanding?" Rachel held up a book that I could only assume came from Mr. Lorenzo's library.

"I read sometimes," She shrugged. "And I like some adventure!" She pointed her finger skywards.

"So, who's in?" She asked, turning towards us.

"I guess we're doing this," Piper said.

"Why not," Jason shrugged. They all turned to me.

"Fine," I said, "But I'm not getting anywhere near those geese outside,"

Rachel sucked in a breath. "That might be a problem…"

…

My theory on how the geese were guarding something turned out to be correct. I would have felt like bragging, had that not meant that we would all need to go out and see what the geese were guarding.

Since Rachel and I were the only ones the geese had bitten, we were appointed the job of distracting the geese, but since Rachel was the one who had read all the clues, the job went to me instead.

I hate geese. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate geese?

I hate their teeth, and their honks, and their feathers. Their bills, and their pond, and their eggs. I hate their wings and their beak, and everything about them that makes them geese.

I hate it all. All of it. Every single bit. I found the others crouched down by the geese's pond.

"I hate geese," I said when I walked up to them. "Have I ever mentioned that?"

"Maybe once or twice," Piper said.

"But I hate them," I continued. "Horrible, awful geese," I rubbed my behind.

"Sorry about your bottom," Rachel said, "But I found what we were looking for," She held up a coin.

"Is that gold?" I asked.

"Yep!" Rachel said. "Pretty cool, right?"

"Who has geese guarding a gold coin?" Jason asked. "I mean, gold isn't all that valuable anymore. There's gold in my phone,"

"This is old gold," Rachel pointed out. "It's probably much more valuable."

"Awesome," I said. "We have a nice gold coin. Now what?"

"We read it? I'm pretty sure it's a clue," Piper said, then looked at Rachel for confirmation.

"It is a clue. But I'm not reading it out here, not if those geese are doing a night patrol today,"

I had sprinted to the house before the others had even stood up.

Upon further inspection of the coin, we noticed markings around the edges of the coin.

"What are these?" Jason pointed to the rune-looking inscriptions on the coin.

"I think they're runes," I said.

"I thought this was from the 1800s or something?" Piper asked.

"So?" I said.

"So, aren't runes from the B.C. era?" Piper asked. "Why use such an old way of communicating?"

"Maybe to keep thins secret?" Jason asked.

"So how is anyone supposed to read what it says?" Piper asked again.

"Maybe with the right book," I said.

Rachel looked at me strangely. "Where are we supposed to find a book on- "She paused. "Oh, never mind,"

The next day, we spent at least 7 hours reading, reaching, and cross-referencing books about runes.

"I got it!" Piper shouted after what felt like an eternity.

"You do?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. The words in my book were starting to blur together, becoming a jumbled mess on the pages.

"Yes!" Piper exclaimed. "I've never been so happy in my entire life!"

"Me either," Jason said, closing the book in front of him. I did the same.

"Where's the coin?" I asked. We gathered around the book in Piper's hand and the coin in Rachel's.

"So, if we look at the runes, and write the corresponding letter…" Piper said.

"T h e s t u d y h a s a l o o s e b r i c k. The study has a loose brick," Piper frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I think it means the study has a loose brick," I told her.

She rolled her eyes. "Duh,"

"Or it means the clue is in the study, and a loose brick conceals it," Jason suggested.

"That makes more sense," I admitted. Rachel was oddly silent.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"There's good news, and bad news," She said.

"What's the good news?" Jason asked.

"We have the next clue and I don't have to read about the history of runes anymore,"

"Here, here," I said.

"And the bad?" Piper asked.

"The study is probably being used by Mr. Lorenzo," Rachel said. I glared at Piper.

"You just had to ask," I said to her.

…

As it turned out, our predicament wasn't as bad as we'd previously thought.

Mr. Chiron had left in the morning to go do some errands. I didn't bother to ask what they were. Evil or not, Mr. Chiron still deserved some privacy.

His leaving gave us some time to snoop around in his office.

"So, we're looking for a loose brick," Piper said when he stepped in.

"Maybe this is a lost cause. Who's to say he hasn't renovated?"

"I doubt it," Rachel said. "There's a cigarette burner attached to this desk," Rachel pointed to the cigarette plate on the desk. I tried to pull it off, but it didn't budge.

"Shouldn't there be a fireplace or something? Wouldn't that make our brick search easier?" Piper asked.

"I'm sure it. Don't plan on it," Rachel said.

"Yeah, treasure hunts aren't supposed to be easy, Piper," Jason said.

"Well excuse me for being optimistic," She sniffed.

"You're excused," I told her. She looked like she wanted to strangle me.

"Guys," Jason said. "You're killing the vibe here," I rolled my eyes.

"Maybe push on the walls?" Rachel suggested.

We did. Pushing on walls, hoping for a secret door to open is fun for the first few minutes. After almost half an hour, it gets a little boring.

"This is pointless," I said. I leaned on the wall. The wall started to rumble, and I stumbled, trying to keep my balance. The wall opened halfway, just large enough for someone to go through.

"Nice job, Percy," Rachel praised me.

"Thanks, I guess. I have no idea how I did that," I told them.

Jason shrugged. "At least we don't have to push on this wall anymore,"

We started down into the cavern. Cave. The hole in the wall.

Whatever you want to call it, we started down it.

It was dark. It wasn't pitch black as they say in the movies, and there was a faint source of light coming from somewhere.

"What are we looking for?" I asked to no one in particular.

"A box," whispered Rachel breathlessly. "We're looking for a box,"

I wanted to ask her how she knew it would be a box, but then I remembered that she had had a book on this subject. Still, that was a strange thing for a book to have in it. Mr. Chiron had said that the topic was obscured from history. So why would a book have so much information on the topic?

Something glittered up ahead.

"What is that?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Why don't we get closer?" I asked.

"Closer?" Piper's voice wavered.

"Don't tell me you're backing out now," Rachel said. "Race you,"

We all sprinted ahead towards the direction the glittering object came from. I thought I heard a clacking noise behind us, but I assumed it had come from us.

We slowed down as we neared the object.

A golden box sat on a pedestal. The carvings on the box were so detailed. It was a breath-taking marvel, and I couldn't help but step closer towards it to see it better.

"We shouldn't be doing this on our own," I said.

"What are you talking about?" Jason said.

"If this is really a stolen object or some old artifact, we should be giving this to the police," I said.

"I guess you're right," Piper conceded.

"No, he's not!" Rachel said. "The Magistairs have been looking for this for decades! And we're not about to lose all of our hard work because you're afraid!" She screeched.

"The way you're talking, it almost sounds like you're a…" I trailed off. Rachel smirked.

"Finally clued in have you? I'm a Magistair,"

"So, the contest was rigged! You just needed to get into this house because you knew that Mr. Chiron was a Depenue!" Piper cried. "And you used us!" She accused.

"That's why you couldn't tell me about the garden," I realized. "You had never been,"

"And that's how you knew so much about this box!" Jason exclaimed.

"Yes, well, Mr. Chiron should have kept his things better protected if a couple of 7th graders were able to take this from him," Rachel said.

"Mr. Chiron is far more apt than you realize," We all turned around to see Mr. Chiron with his cane. His hair was messy, and his tie was out of place, but I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life.

"You're too late _Lorenzo_ ," Rachel said. "I have the box," She lifted it off the pedestal.

"No, don't!" Mr. Chiron shouted, but Rachel already had the box in her hands. The pedestal fell, and the area around it began to fall into the ground. We scrambled away.

Rachel took this chance to run out of the room.

"Follow her!" I shouted. We ran down the way we came, tripping on rocks a few times. The floor was rapidly deteriorating behind us.

At the end of the hallway was a dead-end.

"She closed it," I said. "She left us here to die," I took in a shaky breath. All those times I had called my brother annoying, what I would have given to hug him one last time.

"Why did she need to steal?" Piper asked.

"Most likely to cause a ruckus. Maybe she was trying to frame someone," Mr. Chiron said.

"Or maybe she was trying to make quick cash to get out of the country," Jason said. We stared at him. "What?"

"That…does make sense," Piper concluded.

"I know a lot of kids who leave spare change in their lockers," I said.

Behind us, I could hear the crumbling of the floor.

"I am not dying here," Piper said. "Help me open this door,"

We pushed on the door, and slowly but surely, it started to budge.

"Keep pushing!" Jason said.

"No, really?" I grunted, pushing the door with my arm.

"Please don't let your last words be sarcastic," Piper pleaded with me.

We continued to push until the door gave way for all of us to fit through. The last of the floor fell into the abyss below the moment Mr. Chiron pulled his foot away.

We lied there on the floor, panting from exhaustion.

"That was…" Piper said.

"Horrible? Awful? Death-defying?" I asked.

"All of those," Piper nodded.

"And then some," Jason mumbled.

"We don't have time to waste! We can't just sit here while Ms. Rachel gets away!" Mr. Chiron cried, pulling himself to his feet.

"Hey, Mr. Rich Guy," I told him, "I almost died, and I'm not about to go pursue my killer. Or the person who tried to kill me,"

"What's in that box that's so important anyway?" Jason asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just a vile of poison and its cure. Nothing you need to worry yourself over," Mr. Chiron said calmly.

"What!" I yelled. "Why would you have that?" I asked him.

"Well, it did belong to the Magistairs, but we stole it from them after they threatened to kill us all," Mr. Chiron sat in his chair.

"So, why are we just sitting here!?" Jason asked. "We need to go after her,"

"I was under the impression that you didn't want to chase Ms. Rachel, and that you were perfectly fine letting her go with the box," Mr. Chiron said.

"That was before I knew there was some killer poison in there!" I defended myself. "Plus, why not just go to the police and let them handle it?"

"The police have probably already been bribed," Mr. Chiron pointed out. "Why else would they have said that something was stolen.

"I don't know," Piper shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe we should try the police,"

"You do that," Jason said. "I'm staying with Mr. Chiron,"

"But- "I said.

"You can't change my mind, Percy," Jason said. "If you're going to go, go,"

I turned on my heel and stalked out of the room. Piper walked behind me.

I thought about what Mr. Chiron had said. The police probably had been bribed. Even if I went to them, there was a high chance that they wouldn't do anything. And what about Rachel? She'd be out in the wild with a vile of poison, able to kill anyone who gets in her way. Who's to say she wouldn't come for me? Or my family?

I walked out the front entrance of the mansion where we'd first come in. The geese were gone, and I didn't want to think about what had happened to them. If I kept on this trail, it would lead back to town. There were footprints that deviated from the path, most likely Rachel's. I could follow her, maybe try to stop her.

Or die trying.

I followed the muddy prints.

"This isn't the way to the police department, Percy. You said we would go straight there and tell them what we know," Piper told me.

"I changed my mind," I told her. "I'm following Rachel,"

"Good choice," Someone said behind me, and I almost jumped out of my skin.

"Mr. Chiron! We're you to seriously following us?" Piper asked.

"Yes," Jason said simply.

"For a guy with a cane, you are surprisingly quiet," I said

"Thank you, Percy,"

We followed Rachel's muddy trail. It started to rain heavily. The rain hit my back, thumping against it like fists. The lightning flashed through the sky, a flickering light switch.

Rachel was at the bus stop.

"Really?" I asked when I approached her. "Did the bus not pick you up on time?"

"You're supposed to be dead," She told me.

"That's not a very nice thing to say," Piper said.

"I don't care," She hugged the box to her chest tighter. "And you're not getting this box back!" She yelled at us. In the distance, I saw the headlights of the bus nearing.

"Rachel!" I called out to warn her. The others had also caught on with what I was trying to do.

"Please, Rachel, you need to come over here!" Piper pleaded.

"No! You're not getting this back!" She held up the box.

"We don't want the box!" Jason shouted desperately.

"I do," Mr. Chiron said. We glared at him. The bus neared closer. I waited to hear the bus honk, but it didn't. Maybe the driver couldn't see Rachel through all the rain.

"You don't understand!" Rachel told us. "I won, and you lost!" She laughed. The wind whipped around her, making her hair stick to the back of her neck.

She looked as mad.

She laughed-cackled-again.

"You can't stop me! There's nothing that you can do about it! Once I'm gone, I'll- "

I never got to hear what Rachel was going to do when she was gone. Because she was gone. She was never going to come back. The fear in her eyes when the bus hit her would be a sight that I would never forget. The rain rained on, and the wind blew. Rachel's stare would be forever etched on her face.

"Oh, god! Is that girl okay?" The driver asked worriedly.

Maybe it's strange to feel bad for a murder. Or someone who tried to murder you. I don't remember much from that night. I don't' remember leaving. I don't remember going back home. I don't remember my parents' hugs, and even the hug my brother Marcus gave me.

It's strange now, to think of Rachel's warning. Soon there will be a murder. She couldn't have known that it would be her death. Was she talking about mine? Or Piper's? Maybe Jason? Or Mr. Chiron?

I still have the diamond I found. The one that sat outside the jewelry store on Marooner Street.

That's how this all started, isn't it?

The robbery on Marooner Street.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey...how y'all doing? *music sting*
> 
> My readers: But you did this for what?
> 
> Me: Why not?
> 
> My readers: But for what?
> 
> So hey guys! I know when next I updated, you were expecting one of the one-shots I teased, or A little birdy told me, but that is not the case. Our ELA (English Language Arts) teacher made us do this assignment, and it was just begging me to post this on FFN and ao3.
> 
> I really hope that you guys enjoyed this, and I'm telling you here that there will be no sequel, but feel free to write your own sequel and send them to me.
> 
> Love you all, peace and justice,
> 
> -ThatOneBrokenDeskYouHadToSitOn


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